Echoes Of The Past

Do you ever come across some of your old posts from this website and think to yourself "was that really me typing?"

I have. Sometimes I come across an old post or two that makes me shake my head in disbelief. Not necessarily because of anything particularly bad or
nasty that was said, but rather because the person you currently are seems so distant from the person who was typing those views at the time. While
I've only been registered since 2009, I have been a frequent visitor since about 2006 and some of my initial views have changed dramatically. I guess
this is part and parcel of developing as a member on this website.

I think the saying "people never really change" doesn't carry much weight. Yes, maybe their basic behaviours and character flaws will always remain
in some form, but their life experiences, external influences and their exposure to unfamiliar situations are sure to alter their life perspective in
some manner. Whether this happens for better or for worse, I am not the one to judge.

So next time you come across a post of mine from six years ago, or even one from last week, that seems to register negatively with your mind, remember
that I am just a continuously developing human being who also utilises the practice of hindsight. I have the right to change my views when presented
with better information and I am not the person I once was, and will not always be the person that I am.

I can't even fathom to look at any of my older posts. I'm the polar opposite now of what I once was, and my views have changed dramatically over the
years. If only the interwebz came with a huge eraser...

It's funny how the undertaking of what appears to be idle or even counterproductive banter can provide such a positive service of self-critical
hindsight.

Without intention it seems that those of us who do reinspect our former views, attitudes and comments are tipping our collective hats to the Christian
practice of individual daily journal keeping. Not the annals of kings and princes as immortalized by the scribes but, of average relatively
insignificant people simply toiling to better themselves.

While our intentions are likely not quite as noble, the constructive effects can be nearly approximate.

My perception of you tells me that we would be great friends outside of the internet. Your thoughts always highly resonate with mine. Always changing,
always exploring, always experimenting with yourself. You seem to understand the concept of "self" more than most on here. Its refreshing to see
someone break themselves and their surroundings down in a subjective, but "connected" sense. If or when you have children, I'm sure they'll grow up to
be fine individuals if you pepper them with the same thought provoking mannerisms that you display on ATS. Have a nice day.

The internal motivation for what I write has not changed. My polarity has not altered since I arrived here. My methods however? Yes, those have
evolved. I am better at communicating my thoughts than ever, after being here since 2007, and I hope that the upward trend in my quality of
communication continues.

What's even scarier is reading what I used to write on another forum prior to this one; My own writing astonishes me (keep in mind, I was in
middle-school when I was on that forum). I can still hear "me" in the posts, but my word choice is a bit poorly compared to now.

I used to keep a journal back in the '90s, which I kept going till 2002. Occasionally I read a couple of entries just to experience that strange,
otherworldly feeling that a different person has penned this.

I know I am a very different person now, just a few years later.

We like to entertain the delusion that we are the same person throughout our lives, and we get very defensive if people point out that our views or
attitudes have changed.

Occasionally a member (with waaay too much time on their hands) will scroll through my post history on ATS until they find one I made 3 years ago
which contradicts what I am now saying...and triumphantly point this out to me.

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